Senate passes Healthcare Compact bill; SB208 moves to House

SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Senate passed SB208 Monday, a bill that would allow Utah to join an interstate compact to opt out of federal health care reform laws.
The bill, which passed the Senate on a vote of 21-8, will be forwarded to the House.
Under the Healthcare Compact, the state would assume the federal funding for and oversight of programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program or CHIP under a block grant funding mechanism. Congress would have to give its approval to the states for the compact to take effect.
The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Stuart Adams, R-Layton, in an earlier committee hearing, said the state could do a better job of administering the programs and moving the programs closer to the people would save money that could be funneled into patient benefits and provider reimbursements.
“I’ve never seen anything Washington touches that we can’t do more effectively and more efficiently,” said Adams during debate on the Senate floor.
But some senators questioned the point of entering the compact before the Supreme Court rules on federal health care reform and knowing the outcome of the upcoming congressional elections.
“I think we should not be going alone,” said Sen. Ross Romero, D-Salt Lake. ” It does jeopardize benefits our seniors have worked for and paid into.”